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Dr. Mrs. The Monarch
Dr. Girlfriend is a fictional character on the Adult Swim show The Venture Bros. as a super-villain sidekick and the on-again/off-again girlfriend of the supervillain The Monarch. Dr. Girlfriend is voiced by co-writer Doc Hammer- though she was voiced by Jackson Publick in her first appearance, "The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay". Background While much about the past of the villainess currently known as "Dr. Girlfriend" is a mystery, what is known though is that she is a veteran super-villain who has served as second-in-command for many different super-villains and has used various aliases over the years. Trained in the art of crime by the half-human, half-machine "Truckules", the future "Dr. Girlfriend" first started out under the alias "Madame Au Pair", a nanny themed villain who's henchmen (called "Moppets") were highly trained midgets dressed up as children. Little is known about her time as "Madame Au Pair, except that she she was widely respected and feared by all. At some point, she became Phantom Limb's "number two" under the name Queen Etheria, with a very revealing sheer costume. The working relationship between the two quickly evolved into a romantic relationship, though ultimately it came to an end when Queen Etheria met the butterfly super-villain "The Monarch". The Monarch quickly seduced "Queen Etheria" and the two began dating, a move that led to a jilted Phantom Limb vowing revenge upon the Monarch. Rechristened "Dr. Girlfriend" by the Monarch and now wearing Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis-esque outfits (including the former first lady's trademark pillbox hats), Dr. Girlfriend would quickly establish herself as the more intelligent and competent half of their relationship. Possessing a level of common sense and skill at villainy that the Monarch utterly lacked, Dr. Girlfriend quickly and quietly established herself as the true brains of the Monarch's operation, due in part to the fact that she single-handedly ran the day-to-day operations of Monarch's organization to such an extent that Monarch was totally dependant on her. By the start of the series though, Dr. Girlfriend's relationship with the Monarch began to suffer due to his vendetta against the Venture Family. In hopes of trying to bridge the gap between the two sides, she briefly convinced the Monarch to reach out to Hank and Dean Venture as a friend when Monarch confided to her the revelation that Dr. Venture emotionally neglected his children on a regular basis. But the Monarch continued his vendetta against the Venture family and by the midway through the first season, Dr. Girlfriend confided to Phantom Limb that she was staying with the Monarch mainly because the Monarch, Venture obsession aside, represented stability. But the seed was planted for her to leave when Monarch continued to go after Dr. Venture, even after realizing how pathetic Dr. Venture's life was. Dr. Girlfriend was frequently an active (though sarcastic) partner in The Monarch's schemes to destroy Dr. Venture; the most notable instance involved her (disguised as a woman named "Charlene") seducing Venture and injecting him with a compound that turned him into a giant caterpillar. Ultimately, however, she felt pity and sympathy for Venture and discreetly administered an antidote before he became a butterfly. Dr. Girlfriend also developed an adversarial relationship with Brock Samson, who believes Dr. Girlfriend (due to her deep, semi-masculine voice) to be a transexual. The relationship between the two ultimately collapsed when two of Monarch's most trusted henchmen secretly wrote a tell-all biography of the Monarch. Included in the book was a photo collage of Dr. Girlfriend in her various super-villain identities from over the years, including several photos of Dr. Girlfriend from her "Queen Etheria" days. Already furious at the biography's unflattering portrayal of him as a villain, the book's revealing photos of Dr. Girlfriend caused Monarch to verbally lash out at his girlfriend, reducing Dr. Girlfriend to tears as Monarch called her a tramp that he had "reformed" her into a respectible female villain. Furious, Dr. Girlfriend sought refuge at the home of the Phantom Limb. Dr. Girlfriend soon became a pawn in a much larger game, as Phantom Limb used the fight between the two lovers to frame Monarch for murdering a police officer (who in truth had been bribed, with wealth and a new life as the husband of a super-model, to allow the Guild of Calamitous Intent to fake his death) as part of a larger scheme to kidnap the deformed supervillain prosecutor Tiny Attorney. Dr. Girlfriend agreed to help in the scheme though she foolishly thought that the Guild would rescue the Monarch after capturing Tiny Attorney. But Phantom Limb doublecrossed his former girlfriend, leaving the Monarch to take the fall for a murder that had never happened. Realizing that she couldn't help the Monarch, Dr. Girlfriend was allowed to place a post-hypnotic suggestion inside the Monarch's head that would make him not believe that she was part of the plot to frame him and that it was the Venture Brothers instead who were to blame. The relationship between Phantom Limb and Dr. Girlfriend (now once again calling herself "Queen Etheria") resumed though their relationship became quite strained as Dr. Girlfriend became disgusted at Phantom Limb's elitist attitude and insisting on engaging in white-collar crimes like selling stolen artwork to wealthy gangsters. Meanwhile the Monarch escaped from prison and made several attempts to win Dr. Girlfriend back, only to be rejected due to what had become the single major issue that Dr. Girlfriend had with her ex-boyfriend: his vendetta against the Venture Family. Ultimately, it would take the arrival of Dr. Killinger as the Monarch's new "number two" to bring Dr. Girlfriend back to the Monarch, as Monarch henchman #21 was convinced that Monarch was being manipulated by the fearsome Dr. Killinger. Dr. Girlfriend confronted the fearsome Dr. Killinger, who shocked Dr. Girlfriend by giving her Monarch's diary, which featured Monarch's feelings of love and devotion towards Dr. Girlfriend in written form. Dr. Killinger then left the Monarch, having revealed that he came only to reunite the estranged lovers. Killinger's work succeeded, as the Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend reunited. But fear of Phantom Limb forced them to keep their relationship private until finally Dr. Girlfriend offered Monarch an ultimatium: if he would abandon his vendetta against the Ventures, Dr. Girlfriend would leave Phantom Limb for good and marry the Monarch. Dr. Girlfriend also stipulated that if married, she would be Monarch's equal and not his "number two". Monarch agreed but on the eve of his wedding, his henchmen ambushed the Venture Family and captured them as a wedding present for their boss. But the Monarch had not informed his minions of the deal he made with Dr. Girlfriend, resulting in him quickly declaring that the Venture family would be part of his wedding party, with Dr. Venture as his best man. Unfortunately for Dr. Girlfriend, this led to Dr. Venture finally putting two and two together regarding Dr. Girlfriend being "Charlene" and declaring his intent to win her away from the Monarch, just as the Phantom Limb and his horde of Guild henchmen surrounded the Monarch's secret lair and announcing his intent to kill everyone at the wedding should Dr. Girlfriend not return to Phantom Limb's side. Personality Dr. Girlfriend is generally considered to be one of the more rational minded characters on "The Venture Brothers". She is generally portrayed as a level-headed villain who is shown to be the true brains behind the Monarch's organization. Her relationship with the Monarch is generally shown to be very much a loving one, despite their squabbles and her evolving disdain for the Monarch's obsession with killing Dr. Venture. In Dr. Girlfriend's mind, Monarch and Dr. Venture are a lot alike and that it baffles her mind that the two are not good friends based upon their similarities. Dr. Girlfriend's personality as an easy-going supervillain who is capable of mercy and compassion for her enemies has resulted in her gaining a favorable reputation amongst super-heroes in terms of Dr. Girlfriend being targetted by heroes for her to be their arch-nemesis. Indeed, even Phantom Limb acknowledged that Dr. Girlfriend had the strength and determination to be one of the world's most deadly villains if she would commit herself to her craft and even offered to serve as her "number two". Sexuality and rumors of transexualism One of the running gags of the show's run is the rumor amongst characters that Dr. Girlfriend is in truth a transexual. These rumors are partially based upon the fact that the character is voiced by Doc Hammer, who's portrayal of the character's voice is a deep, masculine sounding tone. Jackson Publick (who voiced Dr. Girlfriend in the show's pilot episode) admitted in a first season DVD commentary that his first attempt at providing her voice was primarily a poor imitation of Harvey Fierstein. Furthermore, the animation for the pilot episode "The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay" and season one premire episode "Dia de Los Dangerous!" have Dr. Girlfriend appearing to have an Adam's apple, an error in animation that was removed for all subsequent episodes involving the character. The writers themselves have fueled the rumors themselves by having characters on the show acknowledge the rumor that Dr. Girlfriend used to be a man. One example of this rumor was a conversation between Pete White and Billy Quizboy in the episode "Tag Sale – You're It!". While talking about the rumors of Dr. Girlfriend being a transexual, Billy Quizboy proclaimed that the rumors were true and that he knew for a fact that Dr. Girlfriend had been surgically implanted with a baboon's uterus. His believability, however, is questionable given the rumor-mongering nature of the conversation. Most notably though is Brock Samson's own skeptical belief that Dr. Girlfriend is a woman. While shown to be utterly indiscriminate in his sexual pursuits, Brock has never once thought about having sex with Dr. Girlfriend, much to Dr. Girlfriend's own disappointment. He later incurred the wrath of Phantom Limb during a team-up by repeatedly insisting that she must bear scars from a sex change surgery. The writers have also debunked the rumors of Dr. Girlfriend being born a man on countless occassions as well. Phantom Limb, The Monarch, and Dr. Venture, who have all been intimate with Dr. Girlfriend, all have all denied that Dr. Girlfriend could be a transexual due to their intimate relations with the villainess. Also, the episode "Victor. Echo. November." has the character herself acknowledge and debunk the rumors when Triana Orpheus and her friend Kim encounter Dr. Girlfriend in the ladies' room. When asked if she entered the wrong room, Dr. Girlfriend casually replied "Yes I belong here, I just have a really deep voice." The writers themselves have also implied that Dr. Girlfriend's deep voice is the result of Dr. Girlfriend being a long-time smoker. In the episode "Fallen Arches", vampire killer Jefferson Twilight inquires, upon hearing Dr. Girlfriend's voice, whether she merely smoked cigarettes or ate them. Other fans have speculated that Dr. Girlfriend's raspy voice was the result of her having her throat cut at some point in her past, though Jackson Publick has denied this theory. Publick has instead commented that much like her passion for the clothing of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Dr. Girlfriend's voice is based upon the former first lady's own deep, semi-masculine voice. Category:The Venture Bros. characters Category:Fictional characters portrayed by the opposite sex Category:Supervillains